Disneyland: One Man's Dream- Splashing into Critter Country

In a previous column, we learned about Bear Country and it's origins, as well as the evolution of the Country Bear Jamboree. This little land was about to become home to a brand new mountain. And to welcome it, Bear Country would need a name change.

It is said that Tony Baxter was sitting in traffic one day. He had been wanting to create a flume ride for Disneyland for a while now, and then it hit him to make one based on Song of the South. So, he and fellow Imagineers got to work on creating the attractio

Almost all amusement parks have flumes, so Disney had to get this ride to be more then just the 52 foot drop. They got together, and decided to theme the entire ride to happen in and around a mountain, called Chicapin Hill. The places inside the ride were based on the rich design of the southern bayous and areas in the south featured in the movie. The ride would be called "Zip-a-dee River Run", based on the iconic song Zip-A-Dee-Doh-Dah", which would also be featured in the finale of the ride. "How Do You Do" and "Ev'rybody's Got A Laughin' Place" would also be included in the ride.

Soon, the ride became monsterous, going far over budget- it was costing over $75 million dolars to make. Meanwhile in Tomorrowland, America Sings was loosing popularity after over 7 years of performances. The show was finally closed, and happy Imagineers were able to recycle these characters and put all 114 audio animatronic characters from America Sings into the newly dubbed Splash Mountain. The name change tied in better with all the other Disney Mountains and also promoted Touchstone pictures new film Splash.



Splash Mountain was so popular that new the ride was soon to be put into Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland. Because the new attraction was more then just about bears, the name of the land was changed from Bear Country to Critter Country. Down the road, though, the Country Bears' days would be numbered

Disneyland: One Man's Dream- Even More Changes in the Land of Tomorrow

So far, Tomorrowland has had the most changes out of any land. It's always been a headache because of the simple fact that today tachnology keeps improving. Soon, Disneyland would start to show the Fantasy of th Future, but for right now it was still "A World on The Move". Although new additions made it a thematic mess, most proved to be very popular.

First, in 1985, the Submarine Voyage subs were repainted from their dull gray to a vibrant yellow. The names of the subs were also change from Military names to Exploration names, only keeping one name the same: Nautalis. These names and hues would still be used in yet another retheme of the ride 20 years later. Also in 1985, Adventure Thru Inner Space closed.


In 1986, a partnership Between Disney and Geaorge Lucas formed, as Captian EO, a 3D show starring Michael Jackson, was put into the Magic Eye Theater infront of Space Mountain. The show was quite popular, but was removed in 1997 when Tomorrowland went under yet another heavy retheme. Captain EO has since been one of the most missed attractions, and may be returning in 2009 as part of Disneyland's Halloweentime.


This partnership bewteen George Lucas and Disney also paved the way for other attractions to be built. For a long time, Disney wanted a simulator in Tomorrowland, simulating flying through space. They were able to do this by making Star Tours, a ride based on Star Wars. When Lucas finished the film part of the ride, a programmer programmed the ride vehicles with a joy stick to make the vehicle pitch up, down, and side to side among other things. It opened in January 1987, and to celebrate, Disneyland was open for 60 straight. Years have been tough on the attraction, causing Disney to want to make another Star Tours. Though Disney is suspected to confirm this in the D23 Expo, it is already slated to open in 2011.


In the same year, the Mark V monorails debuted. This lasted the longest, and are probably the most iconic monorial due to the time they lasted. These monorails were replaced as they began to get old from years of wear-and-tear.


Yes, many new attractions were being built, and Disneyland was bigger and better then ever before. In the next few years, more favorite attractions would debut, but behind the scenes, those at WDI were dreaming of expanding Disneyland past it's berm... and beyond.

Disneyland: One Man's Dream- Fantasyland Extreme Makeover

When Walt originally pictured Fantasyland, he wanted it to resemble a European Village. It was the setting for most of his movies, so it made sense. However, due to budget restraints, this could not be fulfilled, and the idea was replaced with a medieval fair ground theme.

In the 80s, the idea of the European Village theme resurfaced, and from 1982-1983, Fantasyland underwent an extensive makeover. All the classic dark rides would now be housed in elegant Bavarian buildings. Dumbo the Elephant, The Mad Teaparty, and King Arhtur's Carousel were relocated. Also, Cpatain Hook's Galley was closed and removed for good due to deteriorating and wood rot.





For years, Disney wanted to replace the Fantasyland Theater with a dark ride, most notably Pincchio, and that idea was finally made into reality with the Fantasyland retheme.

Fantasyland was rededicated, and for the second time, the drawbridge was lowered. It's great that Walt's dream was finally realized, and is a suiting tribute to the man who did so many great things.

Disneyland: One Man's Dream- The Main Street Electrical Parade

It's one of the most iconic and classic parades ever. The Main Street Electrical Parade premiered in 1972, but was much different then what we know. The original Electrical Parade featured flat screens on moving platforms illuminated with lights. The music was synched to various parts of the parade, using radio-activated triggers as each float entered a zone, the audience would hear float-specific music through the Disneyland audio system. Each zone was between 70-100 feet long, and the zoned system meant that every person watching the parade would experience the same show, no matter where they stood along the parade route.





The Main Street Electrical Parade continued to entertain guests for over 20 years as it proved to be quite popular. Finally, Disneyland announced in 1996 that The Main Street Electircal Parade was "Glowing Away Forever" and would end in November. After the final show, certified light bulbs that were used in the show were sold to collectors. The next year, Light Magic opened, but was such widely criticzed, especially by people online, that it was scrapped. The Electrical Parade continued in Magic Kingdom as a replacement for SpectroMagic, but in 2001 was brought back to Disneyland.

However, it would not go back to Main Street. Supposedly it will in the near future, but as of now, it's in another Disney theme park...

Disneyland: One Man's Dream- The Wild West

Here's a land that hasn't gotten much attention- Frontierland. It didn't originally have many attraction, just a pack mule ride and stagecoaches. In 1956, it was also home to Tom Sawyers Island, where guests could take rafts to the Island in the middle of the Rivers of America and explore the area based on Mark Twain's books.


But in 1956, The Rainbow Caverns Mine Train opened, and took guests on rides to explore desserts. In 1960, the Rainbow Caverns Mine train became The Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland opened. At this time, the stagecoaches also closed. The newest incarnation of the Mine Train brought guests could board a train and be taken on a tour through western landscapes, from desserts to forests.


This attraction was not fit to last, however and closed in 1977. The Pack Mules also dissapeared at this time. What was to replace them? Only the wildest ride in the wilderness!

The idea for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was originally concieved for Walt Disney World by Marc Davis and Tony Baxter. It was to be a large western plateau pavilion, which was to contain many rides including a runaway mine train. The idea proved to be to expensive, and was abandoned, save for the Mine Train. This was put on hold while Space Mountain was built. The ride benefited from this, because by the time it opened in Disneyland (first), computers were controlling the ride, making it easier to operate. It's also interesting to note that many props from the Mine Train are n

Thunder Mountain opened in 1979, and opened in Magic Kingdom one year later. It's story revolves around a legend where gold was discovered in the mountain, and the area soon became a boom town. The miners who mined the area did not know that the mountain was sacred to Native Americans who lived there and was cursed. Soon, there was an earthquake and everyone who lived there fled. The mountain was "rediscovered" later, and those people saw the old mine trains racing around on their own. The people decided to open the Mountain up again, but this time as a tourists on rides.

Thunder Mountain was once again another hit, and the Disneyland Mountain Range was still growing...